From LaBelle, Florida for Hendry and Glades County and the Lake Okeechobee region. Don Browne, editor.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Trail Closing At Lake Okeechobee

CLEWISTON, FL. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will close a section of the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) near Clewiston as rehabilitation continues on the Herbert Hoover Dike, the earthen structure surrounding the lake.

The Corps will close about six miles of trail from Clewiston west to Liberty Point. The closure is necessary for public safety while work on the replacement of a nearby water control structure (Culvert 2) takes place. The trail is expected to be closed in this location from early February through most of the spring while a bypass is built.

“The safety of people walking the trail is important to us while the Corps undertakes rehabilitation of the dike,” said Steve Dunham, Chief of the Corps’ South Florida Operations Office (SFOO) in Clewiston. “We want to keep them out of harm’s way, given the amount of equipment that will be in the area. The rehabilitation of Herbert Hoover Dike is important to the safety of people living and working in south Florida.”

Contractors are using heavy construction vehicles and large equipment within all of these areas and any additional traffic on the narrow trail or dike crest poses a safety hazard for recreationists and equipment operators.

With this change, the trail will be from Lakeport to South Bay on the south and west sides of the lake, from Belle Glade to Pahokee on the southeast side, and from Canal Point to Port Mayaca on the east side.